Welcome to the wonderfully wacky world of Anna-Marie Jung. The freelance illustrator from Graz, Austria has a hilarious sense of humor that comes through in every one of her works. Inspired by pop culture like cartoons, comic books, movies and computer games, she creates "nerdy" art that features the Internet's most famous superstars like cats, ninjas and zombies.

You can read an in-depth interview conducted with Jung over on Threadless, where she's been a member for over four years. It's an inspiring story that chronicles her journey as a visual storyteller, from publishing her first graphic novel at the young age of 16, to receiving a Fulbright scholarship to get her Masters in Illustration from FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in New York. (While you're there, check out Threadless' Artist Stories page to learn more about some highly talented modern-day artists.)

Below are some of our favorite illustrations created by Jung. Love all the funny details.

Kate Jenkins' Crocheted Food Art will have your stomach growling with hunger. The talented UK-based artist owns her own label, Cardigan, where she sells many fashionable crochet designs like wraps, scarves, hats, and toys. But, the handmade creations that we love best are all of these deliciously appealing meals that she makes out of wool and yarn. Everything from a hamburger on a bun to a full sushi meal are featured in the artist's inventive designs.

Jenkins has fun with her art, creating googly-eyed sausage links, french fries with little faces, and burritos with moustaches. Additionally, she titles her pieces with crochet puns like Fish and Stitches, Spaghknitti & Meatballs, and Sewshi. The realistic food designs have great color and texture, and the life-like shapes look so yummy, it wouldn't be surprising if some of her pieces get mistaken for scrumptious snacks!

London-based artist Sea Hyun Lee created a series of oil paintings using just one single color. The series, entitled Between Red, features detailed, mountainous landscapes in which shades of red form the composition of North and South Korea mountains blended into one composition. Between the hills and peaks, a white canvas peeks through to produce the shapes in between.

From a distance, the oil paintings seem like big red blobs across the canvas. But, upon closer inspection, the subtle details of the landscape reveal themselves to the viewer. As we fill in the gaps between red and white, the project statement explains, "Lee’s paintings inhabit a curious space between wholeness and fragmentation. In this way they reveal both the disruptions and inconsistencies that mar our sense of reality, as well as the totality we evoke in order to keep that disorder at bay."

Believe it or not, these pictures have not been digitally manipulated. Recently, Redditor royally_eft and her friend desaturated themselves without having to rely on a computer. The duo covered their bodies from head to toe in monochromatic make-up and 1920's costumes and hit the town. This creative guy and gal certainly stood out against a colorful world as they posed in front of store shelves and with people who weren't in costume.

The final photos produce a bit of a nostalgic feeling, where ghostly figures of the past mix with the many colors of the present. This isn't the first time colorless figures have roamed the streets. In both 2009 and 2010, Brody S. dressed up in a fully desaturated Santa costume to create the illusion of the fun, non-digital Photoshop technique in action.

Photographer Traer Scott, once profiled on My Modern Met for her moving series on Shelter Dogs, just came out with a new book that's guaranteed to warm your heart. You don't have to be a dog lover to appreciate Newborn Puppies, a book filled with 75 color and black-and-white photos of puppies from one to 21-days-old. What do those first moments look like when they're opening their eyes and peering out into the real world?

These adorable photos feature a wide range of breeds and types from champion puppies to shelter strays. Newborn Puppiesis now available at Chronicle Books.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

In the Ashikaga Flower Park in Tochigi, Japan sits an incredibly gorgeous wisteria tree that's often referred to as the most beautiful in the whole world. The largest and oldest in Japan, the tree is the main attraction at the flower park as visitors flock to see it in full bloom. Dating back to approximately 1870, the 143-year-old tree has branches that are supported by beams, which creates a a stunning flower umbrella. Best time to visit the park to see all of the park's beautiful wisteria trees? Mid-April to mid-May. Of course, if you can't make it, you can take a virtual tour of the park courtesy of photographer Ralph Mirebs.